


Don't play well with others.

by Higgystar



Category: Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: Gen, Kink Meme
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-04-30
Updated: 2014-04-30
Packaged: 2018-01-21 10:42:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,441
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1547753
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Higgystar/pseuds/Higgystar
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Prompt from the kink meme: Set pre-series, the Atlanta Quarry group deal with having the Dixon brothers live among them.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Don't play well with others.

Merle had never been one for groups. Sure he had people he hung out with but there was always an ulterior motive, such as better suppliers, easy people to scam at poker and people that weren’t so bad to get shit faced with. He knew his baby brother would rather be by himself all the time, or at least only with Merle, but the end of the world had crept up on them and as usual they needed something that this rag tag group of idiots could provide. Better supplies.

He didn’t intend to be around for long, but there were a lot of people here and stealing in the dead of night without being spotted was looking harder and harder each day. So they played the good boys, as much as they could, and pulled their weight, willing to enjoy what they could before they left these fuckers for dead.

The day had started out as it usually did, with Daryl kicking him awake and calling him an ass for lying in when there was work to be done. Merle had caught him upside the head for that when he’d caught up to him, the two of them bringing in some scraps of animals that would pass for food and leaving them to be dealt with by the women. When that damned cop had come up to them, holding his shotgun on his shoulder like he was a damned soldier and grinning from ear to ear, Merle wondered how many teeth he could break with one hit.

Still he’d smiled back as polite as he could and listened when the man had begun talking about their weapons, pointing to Daryl’s crossbow and questioning the usefulness of it against walkers. His baby brother had gone on the defensive right away, hissing and spitting like an angry cat as if the cop had insulted his dick and not his weapon. Merle takes a moment to let him act the idiot, folding his arms and chuckling as Daryl points out everything he likes about the damned bow ever since he’d got it.

All the officer had been doing was trying to offer him a gun to keep as back up and here was his little brother acting like he’d been personally insulted. Merle lets the cop get riled up, sneering at Daryl in that way people did when they thought the two of them were lesser people, the kind you’d give a wide berth to. “Now hold on a moment there, you might wanna take the cop up on his offer.” Pressing a hand to Daryl’s chest he can feel the way his brother is breathing heavy, wanting to fight, all tense and on edge. “Never have too many weapons can you?”

“Plus there’s only so many arrows for that thing.” Shane points out and yet again Daryl is bristling, waving his bow about and talking about them being reusable and that he could make more. Merle knows that’s true, he’d taught Daryl how to do it himself, but none of them knew exactly what the demand for arrows would be each day and besides, things got broke and lost easily.

“I’ll be fine, I don’t need no damned gun that’ll draw every walker in the area to us.” Daryl spits at the ground, acting cocky, and getting close to the other cop with his bow still being brandished. Merle can see the thing isn’t even ready to fire, but Daryl probably doesn’t intend to waste an arrow on this idiot.

“I say take it.” Merle shrugs, never willing to say no to something useful. His baby brother was being an idiot again and sometimes Merle had to wonder how Daryl had survived without him always there looking after him. His brother could use a lesson and as usual he was the one that was going to give it. “You never know what’ll happen to your arrows.”

He moves fast, taking Daryl off guard and yanking the bow from his grip, shoving his brother to the ground and giving him the time to string the damned thing and get it ready to fire. Merle doesn’t even use the sight to fire the thing, aiming high and laughing when the bolt lodges itself high up in the tree, sticking out way beyond being rescued.

Daryl’s up and shoving at him, trying to wrestle the bow from his grip and making Merle laugh even harder at how angry he looks. “Hey now Darylina, just teaching you a lesson here!” He shoves back, used to keeping Daryl at bay with one arm and mocking him. “See you’re already down one arrow.” Merle gives a shrug as if he had nothing to do with it and lets Daryl snatch the bow away, his baby brother holding the thing to his chest protectively when they all move to gaze up at the lost arrow.

“You’re an idiot.” Daryl growls, giving a final punch to his arm before moving closer to the tree, pressing a hand against the bark and peering up, squinting in the sunlight and trying to find a way up. “Waste of an arrow Merle.”

“Lessons don’t come cheap.” He shrugs, feeling Shane laugh beside him and grinning at his brother looking so frustrated, circling the tree trunk and clearly noticing that none of the branches were low enough for him to get a hold of it. “Sides, just proving a point here, take the damned gun and quit your bitching.”

His brother ignores him and continues assessing the tree, as if the brat is honestly thinking the arrow is more than a lost cause. He and Shane both let him, the two of them watching and giving words that certainly weren’t encouragement as Daryl looked for a way up. As far as days went it wasn’t a bad way to waste the time and honestly if Daryl wanted to look an idiot in front of everyone else who was Merle to stop him?

“Why’d you shoot an arrow all the way up there?” Comes a voice from their side and Merle looks down from where the arrow is firmly wedged to see the kids beside him. The little girl is quiet, looking like she’d run from her own shadow and sticking close to Shane whilst her friend talks. The boy’s more curious, shielding his eyes from the sun and cocking his head at the sight of the arrow lost to them.

Shrugging a little he grins to Daryl, enjoying the way his brother glares at him in frustration and sets the crossbow down at the base of the tree, as if having two hands free was going to solve his issue. “Proving a point.” Smirking to Daryl he’s amused when he gets a middle finger waved at him in return and laughs a bit harder when Shane chastises him for doing it in front of the kids, making Daryl quit the gesture immediately. “What you gonna do Darylina? Thought you said you could reuse arrows?” He crows, loving making Daryl grit his teeth and pace even more around the base of the tree like an angry dog wishing he could reach a cat.

“I’m gonna get it!” Daryl snarls, wiping at his mouth with the back of his hand and taking a few paces back. Merle wonders if he’s going to run at the tree and hope for some lift, but it seems even Daryl works out what a bad idea that is and decides against it. “Ain’t wasting an arrow if I don’t have to.”

“How’re you gonna get it?” The girl asks before realising that she’d spoken out loud and hiding behind Shane again, sliding against his side as if she was fearful of their answer. Merle recognises the reactions but tries to ignore the revulsion in his gut that his look was the one that caused it. “It’s just so high.” She whispers.

Carl shrugs as does Shane, both looking completely perplexed as to how Daryl was going to solve this issue. Merle had to admit it wasn’t looking as if there were many choices here, aside from cutting down the fucking tree and he didn’t think even Daryl was that stubborn when it came to proving a point. “Any ideas baby brother?” He asks, walking closer to Daryl and the base of the tree, their rag tag group of an audience following and still peering up at the arrow in the distance.

“Yeah.” Daryl removes his boots, leaving him in his socks against the dirt and giving Merle more questions than answers. “Now you’ve got your fat ass over here.” Shane goes to call him out on his language again and Merle goes to ask what the hell he had to do with anything when he’s cut off by Daryl’s next move.

Before he can stop him Daryl is on his back, making him grunt at the sudden weight and stagger to keep his balance. Daryl moves quickly, climbing up his body like an animal until he’s on his shoulders, using the trunk of the tree to keep himself steady. “Jesus Christ you’re heavier than I remember!” Merle complains but still moves his hands up to hold Daryl’s feet in place, memories of doing this when they were younger to steal the neighbour’s apples. His brother uses the extra height to his advantage and within moment Daryl is hanging from a tree branch with Merle giving his feet an extra shove to get him up there.

“What if he falls?” Sophia squeaks in fear, clutching at her shirt and watching as Daryl begins scaling his way up the tree.

“She’s right it’s not like we can just stroll into a hospital if he breaks his neck.” Shane agrees and Merle can tell the man is struggling between letting this play out to see who would win their little argument and stopping Daryl from potential injury. “We should stop him.”

Merle chuckles a little and points up the tree to where his brother is getting lost in the branches, winding himself through them easily and not looking the slightest bit worried about injury. “Be my guest, you get your tree climbing badge from the scouts?” Shane looks grim, his mouth set in a tight line and Merle shakes his head a little at the reaction of frustration over something so small. “He ain’t never fallen before, he ain’t gonna start now.”

Carl is looking up at the tree with a grin, as if Daryl is some kind of hero for doing something so simple. “Mom never lets me climb trees.” He complains, looking to Shane as if he was going to sudden be given permission. “Daryl could teach me.” The kid wheedles, trying to find a way to get the answer to be yes and looking put out when Shane simply shakes his head in reply.

“He’s going to kill himself.” It seems their little adventure was drawing quite a crowd, even the two lovely looking sisters had come over to take a gander. The younger one is biting her lip like she’s worried for Daryl but the older one just looks pissed at their antics. “It’s just an arrow, why would you let him put himself in that kind of danger?” Andrea asks him, looking at him as if he’d sentenced his own brother to death.

“You kidding me?” He sneers a little, not willing to have some snooty bitch come and tell him he was endangering the one person he gave a shit about. The woman had an attitude about her and he couldn’t decide if he wanted to smack her or fuck her. “He’s fine, Christ climbing a tree probably makes him safer than the rest of us on the ground. No walkers up there.” He turns his back on her, ignoring the sound of disbelief from her and peering back up to his brother.

Daryl had always been an agile little shit, able to squirm his way in and out of some tight spots and find a way around things. Keeping an eye on his brother Merle wonders why someone’s parents would stop their kids from climbing a tree, to him it was just a part of being a kid and the thought was ludicrous. Mind you, these city bitches had probably barely seen a fucking tree before all of this. For once he and Daryl had the upper hand in this situation and he was sure they’d be able to pull through it all without a problem.

“This is not a good idea.” Andrea huffs again with her arms folded, her sister following suit and giving a little gasp when Daryl jumps to a new branch. Merle doesn’t even flinch and Christ how did these people survive this long already? Shane is laughing beside him, giving a few claps of applause for the move and the kids are cheering as if this were some kind of sport. Merle remembers every reason he’d ever had for sticking with a group and every reason why Daryl didn’t like them as much.

His brother is at the arrow now, keeping himself steady whilst yanking the thing free of where it’s buried. Cupping his hands around his mouth to carry his voice further Merle is pissed his lesson didn’t exactly work, and he’s not impressed that Daryl had managed to prove him wrong in front of these people. “Hey Darylina! I told you if you kept eating squirrel you’d turn into one!”

“That why you’re such a pussy Merle?” Daryl shouts back down and Merle doesn’t know whether to be angry or impressed with the come back. Instead he glares up at his brother and ignores the shit eating grin the idiot has around the arrow clenched between his teeth.

Shane is trying to stop his laughter and failing miserably, clearly trying to act the adult around the children and not doing a good job. Andrea and Amy has those little smiles on their faces, a look as if they’d somehow won their little spat and that Daryl had proven it so. Sneering a little a part of him wishes Daryl would slip a little on his way down. “You eat cats?” Carl asks from beside him and Merle can’t help but grin at that.

“Not lately.” He turns to grin to the sisters, running his tongue over his lips and enjoying the way they squeak and hurry away, disgusted by his behaviour and wanting to be away from the gross redneck. Stuck up bitches didn’t know what they were missing, looked like they both needed a good fuck to make them relax. The kid next to him looks so confused and Shane looks as if he wants to stop laughing long enough to scold him for it. Instead he grins to the kid before speaking. “I’m kidding, I don’t eat cats. Just Bambi’s mom.”

“Ew.” Sophia shudders, looking upset at the very thought of it and Merle really doesn’t think this shy little girl is going to get far in this new nitty gritty lifestyle of theirs.

“Oh trust me when the tinned food runs out you’re not going to be saying no to a Bambi burger.” Shane strokes the girl’s hair softly, making her smile sweetly and not look so on edge. “Heck you didn’t think you’d like squirrel stew before all this and look at you now.”

She giggles in agreement and looks to Merle in a way that he supposes is meant to convey thanks for the food he and his brother provided but couldn’t seem to find the words. Whatever part of him lets him deal with groups of people softens a little and gives her a nod and as kind a smile as he can manage.

“I can’t believe you got it!” Carl gushes excitedly when a pair of socked feet dangle from the lowest branch, Daryl sitting happy as anything with his arrow and grinning down to them. “That was so cool, could you teach me how to climb trees?”

“Carl you know what your mom would say.” Shane sounds exasperated that the conversation has cropped up again and in some ways Carl reminds Merle of when Daryl had been that age and insistent on knowing everything.

“She doesn’t have to know, it could be a secret.” Carl rolls his eyes, as if they were all stupid for not knowing that, still looking up to Daryl as if he were a hero. “Come on Daryl, you’ll teach me to climb trees won’t you? And Sophia too?” The girl has gone all shy again, ducking behind Shane but clearly wanting to learn as much as her friend.

“Hell no.” Daryl swings his feet, shaking his head and tossing the arrow to the ground out of the way. “I ain’t being a part of that, your mom would tan my hide if she ever found out.”

“But she won’t Darylina, that’s why it’s a secret.” Merle mocks, finding the kid nodding in agreement beside him as he reaches up to tickle at the base of his brother’s feet. Daryl flinches a little before kicking at him lashing out even though there’s no way he’ll be able to reach. “Get your ass out of that tree. You look like an idiot.”

“I thought it was cool.” Sophia mutters whilst Carl is still looking at Daryl in awe as he swings himself down, hanging from the branch like a chimp. His brother is such a moron sometimes and right now having wasted so much energy just showing off and proving a point makes it very obvious.

Still when Daryl’s feet nudge at his shoulder he can’t help but move to help him down, placing his hands on his sides when he lets go and making sure his brother doesn’t end up breaking anything on his way to the floor. Daryl is still grinning to himself when he grabs up his bow and the retrieved arrow, spinning the damned thing between his fingers with a flourish and acting his cocky self. Pointing the thing at Shane he gives a smirk. “Don’t need no gun, you need to stop doubting me. I can take care of myself.”

Shane holds up his hands in surrender shaking his head in what Merle reckons passes as an apology. “All right man, I was just offering is all.” Daryl gives a snort of acceptance before strutting off like he’d won something, both of the kids trailing after him and Carl still asking for Daryl to teach him how to climb trees. His baby brother doesn’t seem to mind the pestering and continues the mini argument, even Sophia joining in a little as they head towards the campfire.

Merle wonders exactly why Daryl seems to get on better with the kids than he does the adults but that just brings up more questions than answers so he leaves it be. “Your brother is one stubborn son of a bitch.” Shane chuckles beside him, playing with that damned shotgun again and watching the perimeter as if now their moment of fun was over the walkers would be on them immediately. “Heck you are too, how’d you convince him you should go to Atlanta on the run anyway? Though you said he’d pitch a fit?”

Smirking to himself Merle can’t wait to see the back of this little group, after they’d got everything in Atlanta and he’d let the idiots going with him get caught or lost, it would be just him and Daryl again, just the way it was meant to be. They wouldn’t have to deal with people questioning them or using their skills when they wanted whilst giving them that look of derision afterwards. He knows Daryl would cause a scene if he was told, his baby brother had always been one for dramatics and being in a group had brought out the drama queen in him now he had an audience to play to. It would be ridiculous to watch and he was already sick of the looks these people were giving him without that sort of show.

Shrugging a little he places a hand on his knife and turns to head for the woods, wanting to double check the area for walkers and double their defences if he could before he left. “Who says I told him?” Turning his back on Shane he heads out, not caring about the group at the camp but needing to be certain there weren’t too many walkers near to gnaw on his idiotic, show off baby brother.

The idiot would only make a fucking scene anyway.


End file.
